£85,000 for the patient in agony after 150 trips to the dentist

When Mauro Mariani went to the dentist with a nagging toothache in 1995, the agony was just beginning.

What he thought would be a routine visit led to years of pain and another 150 appointments at a cost of £11,500.

Bungled root canal and bridge work left him unable to eat properly for four years.

Now Mr Mariani, 37, has accepted £85,000 from dentist Allan Sands.

It is one of the largest out-of-court settlements paid by a dentist in this country. Mr Sands admitted negligence after an astonishing series of botched procedures

He removed ten healthy teeth which he had filed down too far while trying to force-fit faulty bridges. He also chipped several teeth when his drill slipped inside Mr Mariani's mouth.

The unfortunate patient, who runs an Italian restaurant in Soho, said yesterday he was not celebrating the award. 'I have won the money but the dentist is still working. He should be struck off. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through what I did.'

Mr Mariani, of Enfield, North London, developed toothache in March 1995 and went to Mr Sands, who works from premises in Wimpole Street, Central London.

'He said there was nothing wrong but after a few days I was still in pain so I went back and he said I needed root canal work. When I was still in pain a few days later he simply took the tooth out, without doing any Xrays or checking whether the root canal operation had worked.

'Then he said he would make a false tooth to fill the gap. But when he was fitting it he trimmed the tooth beside it too much and that had to come out as well.

'On other occasions, the drill would slip and chip a tooth. Sometimes he would make a bridge too big so he would have to trim the top teeth down to make it fit.'

Mr Mariani claimed Mr Sands dismissed his complaints.

'He would tell me not too fuss and there was nothing to worry about.'

Eventually Mr Mariani, a father of two, was missing three bottom front teeth, four on the upper left side and three on the upper right. He had 12 faulty bridges fitted.

On several occasions his wife Anne, 34, had to take him to an emergency dental hospital in the early hours.

'There were nights when I would be crying in pain. I would sit up all night and my wife would sit up with me, feeding me painkillers.'

Mr Mariani said he kept going back to the dentist because he had paid in advance for the bridges. But his patience finally ran out in February 1999 when the 12th bridge did not fit.

'I got up from the chair, threw the bridge down and demanded he give me back £2,500 I had just paid.'

Mr Mariani said he contacted the General Dental Council but was told there was no evidence of wrong-doing. In desperation he turned to a solicitor.

He said the £85,000 will barely cover his legal and dental costs.

'I have a new dentist and have a temporary bridge so I can eat again. By the time I pay for the implants and am reimbursed for the money I have paid out I will be left with very little.'

Mr Mariani's solicitor, David Corless-Smith of the Dental Law Partnership, said Mr Sands's defence team had admitted negligence.

He added: 'This award is among the largest paid out by a dentist. The biggest I know of was for £120,000.'